Feeding machine



Jan. 1 7, 1928.

A. PODEL FEEDING MACHINE File u y 30, 1924 6 Sheets-Sheet l avwamtoz [ha/lam Fade! 35 Mo @lbtommg Jan. 17, 1928.

1,656,499 A. PODEL FEEDING MACHINE Filed July 30, 1924 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 lll i iQiHHIHHIII Jan. 17, 1928.

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l 656 49 A. PODEL 9 FEEDING MACHINE Filed July 30, 1924 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Swvamtoz 35 M GMIO'I/VLMX Jan. 17, 1928.

A. PODEL -v FEEDING MACHINE Filed July so, 1924 e Sheets-Sheet s y 123 Z flra am P0 6 19" 72 0 2,1 M aum Patented Jan. 17, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ABRAHAM PODEL, OF LONG ISLAND CITY, NEW YORK; ASCIG-NOR TO ANCHOR CAP AND CLOSURE CORPORATION, OF LONG ISLAND CITY, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

FEEDING MACHINE.

Application filed July 30,

The present invention relates to sheet handling machinery generally, and more particularly to machines for feeding sheet material to conveyors or other machines.

The general object of the present inven tion is to provide a machine which will minimize the labor required to feed sheet mate-' rial through various machines, including the facilitation of its removal from the main supply; to provide such a feeding machine at a low cost with a minimum of parts readily replaceable and easy to manufacture.

Another object is to provide a machine adapted to remove astack of sheet material from a truck or the like and feed it automatically to a conveying mechanism at a predetermined rate; to provide means for raising or lowering the sheet material at will; and to provide devices for automatically regulating the level of the top of the stack to facilitate feeding either automatically or by hand.

A further object is the adaptation of a machine of the above characterlstics for attachment to the apparatus which it feeds to use the same as a source of power and for the purpose of timing its operations with respect thereto; and to provide a separate independent source of power for changing the position of the stack more rapidly and at will.

A still further object is the provision of safety devices to prevent the two sources of power from being effective on the same mechanism simultaneously and for other purposes.

A more specific object is the provision of devices'for raising the stack of sheet material at a rate greater than the rate at which the height ofthe stack is decreased by the feeding operation; and to provide automatic means for rendering these devices effective when the top of the stack is below a predetermined level; and the provision of additional means for rendering said devices ineifective when the top of the stack is above a predetermined level thereby maintaining its variations in height within predetermined limits to facilitate the feeding operation.

Another specific object is the provision of vacuum operated devices adapted to oscillate substantially in a vertical direction and to engage the upper sheet of said material 1924. Serial No. 729,043.

its proper performance under all conditions commonly encountered in this class of work;

to provide a machine which will greatly minimize the amount of labor required to move sheet material from the storage rooms 79 or other places of deposit to such a machine; and to eliminate the human element in feeding the sheets to'machines ordinarily used in the making of such material or during its manufacture into marketable articles.

Other and further objects of the invention will be obvious upon an understanding of the illustrated embodiment about to be described or will be obvious from the accompanying drawings or indicated in the appended claims; and various advantages other than those herein specifically referred to will occur to one skilled in the art or become evident upon the employment of the invention in practice.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevational view of the preferred embodiment; Figure 2 is an endview of the machine;

Figure 3 is a top plan view;

Figure 4 is a detail cross section along line 4.4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a cross-section along line 5-5 of Figure 4:; Y

Figure 6 is a detail cross-section along line 66 of Figure 1 showing certain portions of 95 the sheet raising mechanism;

Figure 7 is a cross-section along 1i-nes.77 of Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a cross-section along line 8-8 of Figure 6 showing the cam mechanism for raising the vacuum cups;

Figure 9 is a detailed cross-section along line 9'9 of Figure 1 showing the valve operating mechanism;

Figure 10 is a cross-section along line 1010 of Figure 1;

Figure 11 is a cross-section along line lll1 of Figure 10 Figure 12 is an elevation of the cam mechanism shown in Figure 10 and Figure 13 is a perspective view of a detail.

In the manufacture of sheet material and in the manufacture of articles from sheet material, it is usually necessary to feed the sheets one at a time through a series of machines. For instance, in the manufacture of metal containers or metal caps for glass containers, the sheets may be passed through a cleaning machine, a lacquering machine, a series of printing presses and finally through various stamping machines necessary for the construction of the articles. Where these steps are consecutive and the machines are adjacent each other, suitable conveying mechanisms may be used to deliver the sheets from one machine to an other. In many instances, however, the steps are not consecutive and the respective sheets must be stacked one upon another, loaded upon trucks and frequently stored for a period of time. In such cases, the sheets must be separated and fed individually to the machines performing the additional ste s.

Hereto ore in the art, it has been necessary for the operators to lace the sheet on the trucks or other conveying devices manually, haul it to the machine to be fed and place the sheet in a position'on a suitable table and proceed to feed the sheets individually from the table, replenishing the su ply when necessary. A single machine or inarily requires one man to feed the sheet material and sometimes another tosupply it.

Furthermore, the stacks of tin from which the operator feeds the machine varies in height depending upon the supply at hand and renders .the work very tiresome.

The present invention eliminates the above difliculties by providing a machine adapted to take the stack of tin or sheet material directly from the truck and maintain its height substantially constant during the feeding operation to facilitate manual feeding if such is desired. However, automatic mechanism is provided which feeds the sheets individually just as the operator has done heretofore, thereby eliminating the h? man element, and greatly minimizing the amount of labor required. Various safety devices associated with the machine take care of all extraordinary conditions of operation and render the machine substantially fool proof.

Referring generally to the preferred embodiment, these results are accomplished by providing a rigid frame composed of a pair of upright members suitably braced at their upper ends and at their center portions, the latter bracing member forming supports for various devices associated with the machine. A pair of threaded shafts are mounted in the upright members and a sheet supporting table is mounted on the shafts. A motor preferably is operatively connected to the shafts to adjust the vertical height of the table at will. Vacuum cups raise the sheets individually and reciprocating hooks engage and move them toward the machine to be fed. Suitable drive connections are made to the machine being fed, thereby correlating the respective movements of the two machines. The vertical shafts are likewise connected to the machine being fed in the preferred embodiment and suitable automatic devices are provided to render the connections effective when a predetermined lower level has been reached and to render them ineffective when a predetermined upper level has been reached. This maintains the top of the stack within predetermined limits and facilitates the feeding operation.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to Figures 1, 2 and 3, there is shown a feeding machine associated with a conveyor or other mechanism 2 shown in dotted lines to illustrate the application of the present invention to machines generally. The preferred embodiment of this invention shown herein for illustrative purposes comprises a pair of upright channel members 4 bolted to suitable foundation members 3, and braced at their upper ends by a cross member 5, bolted thereto. The channel members 4 are also braced at their mid dle portions by the channel member 6 which, in addition to reinforcing the frame works, forms a rigid support for various associated mechanisms. A pair of vertical shafts 7 are mounted in the upright channel members 4 and adapted to fit into suitable bearings 8 and 9 formed in the foundation members 3 and cross member 5 respectively. These vertical shafts 7 are threaded at their lower ends as shown at 10, and a pair of supporting members 11 are mounted on the threaded portions with extensions 12 adapted to support a table 14 upon which a stack of sheet material 15 may be placed.

An electric motor 16, which may be of the induction type, is operatively connected to one of the vertical shafts 7 through gear 18 on motor shaft 17, gear 19 on shaft 7 and the friction clutch 20. The vertical shafts 7 are operatively connected together by means of the shaft 21 having bevelled gears 22 and 24 mounted on its ends and meshing with bevelled gears 25 and 26 respectively, on vertical shafts 7. A handwheel 27 is mounted on one of the channel members 4: and connected to shafts 7 through bevelled gears 28 and 29 on handwheel 27 and shaft 7 respectively. Table 14 and material 15 thereon may be raised or lowered at will either by turning the handwheel 27 or by starting the motor 16 and closing the friction clutch 20 by pulling down the handle 30.

The hand wheel and motor are used to vary the height of the table when the material is to be placed thereon or when the table is to be positioned for feeding after a supply of material has been placed thereon.

Since the automatic feeding and stack regulating mechanisms hereinafter described must be timed with respect to the conveyor or other machine to be fed, it is desirable to use that machine as a source of power for operating these mechanisms. This may be done by mounting a shaft 31 on the bracing member 6, which may serve as one end of a suitable conveyor associated with the machine 2. Pulleys 32 are mounted on shaft 31 to carry suitable conveyor belts not shown. A sprocket 34 rigidly mounted on shaft 31 is driven by chain 35 operatively connected to the machine 2. A second sprocket 36 is mounted on shaft 31 and operatively connected by chain 37 to drive sprocket 38 loosely mounted on shaft 39 and held in position by collar 40.

A pair of clutches 41 and 42, similar in construction, are mounted on shaft 39. Clutch 41 is adapted to connect or disconnect all mechanism from the sprocket 38, and the second clutch 42 controlled by the clutch lever 43 is adapted to connect and disconnect the automatic sheet feeding mechanism from sprocket 38 while the first clutch 41 is closed. The clutch 41 comprises a jaw 44 integral with the sprocket wheel 38 and jaw 45 keyed to sleeve 46 loosely mounted on the shaft 39. A control lever 47, mounted on the bracing member 5 by means of the extension 48, is operatively connected through bar 49 mounted in bearing 50 to the handle 51 adjacent the friction clutch 20. The engagement of the jaws 44 and 45 of clutch 41 rotates gear 52 on sleeve 46 which in turn rotates gear 54 through gears 55 and 56 on shaft 57, which is mounted'in a suitable bearing 58 on the upright vertical member 4.

The gear 54 is loosely mounted on shaft 21 and is connected through automatic clutches about to be described for rotation of shaft 21 and automatic regulation of the position of table 14. Referring more particularly to Figures 4 and 5, it will be seen that gear wheel 54 has a series of spokes 59 joining its outer periphery to a central hub 60. Mounted adjacent gear 54 on shaft 21 is a cam 61,

loosely mounted on the hub 60, and a collar 62 keyed to shaft 21 at 64. Cam 61 is resiliently connected to and rotates gear 54 through spring 65 on the gear wheel 54, and the pin 66 mounted in aperture 67. Collar 62 is adapted to be detachably connected to cam 61 and gear 54'by means of a pin 68 seated in slot 69 and adapted to engage the sides of slot 70 in cam 61. A spring 71 tends to retain the collar 62 in engagement with the cam 61 by pressing the pin 68 into slot 70. A suitable cover 72 is provided for slot 69 and retained in position by screws 74. Now in the operation of the portions of the automatic mechanism just described, the cam 61 would always engage the collar 62 and as a result, the shaft 21 would rotate continuously. I

To automatically control the height of the stack of sheet material and to cause the shaft 21 to rotate intermittently, a latch 7 5 is pivoted at its upper end by bolt 76 in extension-77 on cross member 5. The lower end of the latch is provided with a cam surface 78 adapted to engage one edge of the slot 79 in pin 68 to move said pin out of effective position with respect to cam 61 as the collar 62 continues to rotate, thereby disengaging it from cam 61 and gear 54. A cam follower 80 is attached to the lower end of latch by bolt 81 and cotter pin 82, and is adapted to engage cam 61. The projection 84 on cam 61 causes the follower to oscillate the latch 75 between the extreme positions, shown in Figure 4, during each revolution of the cam 61. Spring 85 mounted on the framework of the machine acts upon bolt 81 to retain cam follower 80 against cam 61. Mounted also on the extension 77 is a U-shaped member 86, one side of the U being bolted against the extension 7 7 by the bolt 87 threaded into the extension. Recess 88 in the bolt 87 furnishes a seat for the pin 89. Spring 90 seated in the recess 88 presses pin 89 to its outer position. One end of pin 89 is machined down to a smaller diameter and extends through the aperture 91 in the bolt 87 and is engaged by wire 92 which extends through the free side of the U-shaped member 86.

The wire 92 is encased in the customary manner as shown at 94 and extends through collar 95 on stem 98 of vacuum cup and has its free end attached to arm 96 connecting the bearings 97 in which the vacuum cup stems 98 are mounted. The collars 95 are resiliently held in position against bearings 97 by springs 99. When the stack of sheet material is at an excessive height, the collars 95 are separated from the bearings 97 by the vacuumcups 100 being pressed upwardly in opposition to springs 99. Since the wire casing 94 is held in position at its respective ends by suitable nuts, and the entire wire moves and regulates the position of pin 89 in response to the separation of the collars 95 and the bearings 97; that is, the wire is responsive tothe height of the stack of sheet material. When the stack is high, the pin 89 is pulled out of engagement with the 'latch 75 which is pressed immediately into position to engage the member 68 and disengage collar 62 from the cam 61. The table raising mechanism is therefore cut out temporarily until the height ofthe stack decreases to a lower limit at which wire 92 permits pin 89 to engage and hold latch 67 which is bein' oscillated once during each revolution 0 cam 61.

When the supply of tin is exhausted from the table, it is desirable to cut out the table raising mechanism permanently. This is done by providing a hand operated lever 101 pivoted at its center portion to the extension 77 and having a cam surface on its lower end similar to and for the same purpose as the cam surface 7 8 on the latch 75. A spring 102 having one of its ends attached to spring and its other attached to the lever 101, tends to retain the lever in effective position to disengage pin 68 from cam 61. An encased wire 103 similar in construction and operation to Wire 92 described hereinbefore is attached to lever 104 and is responsive to its movement relative to the extension on the vertical member 4. The member 104 is pivoted on one of the vertical members 4 and has an end extending over a portion of the table 14 to be engaged thereby. A suitable screw in this member 104 determines the point at which the table engages this member and increases the distance between the other end of the member 104 andthe extension on the vertical member 4, thereby drawing the wire 103 downwardly. This immediately retracts the wire 103 from the aperture 103 in lever 101 and the table raising mechanism is rendered ineffective by the spring 102 which pulls the lever into such a position that the cam surface 83 engages the member 68 described hereinbefore with respect to cam surface 84 on latch 75. Unlikelatch 75, however, the lever 101 remains in effective position until manually disengaged by the operator after having replenished the supply of sheet material on table 14. When the lever is thrown out of effective position manually, if the table is below its upper maximum position, the wire 103 automatically enters the aperture 103' and retains the lever 10 1 in this position until the table 14 reaches again a predetermined height.

The mecha nism described hereinbefore affords an ample supply of sheet material at a substantially constant level. This material may be fed to the conveyor 2 manually and many of the advantages of this invention obtained. Preferably, however, the sheets are fed automatically by the mechanism about to be described. Attached to the end of the vertical channel members 4 by suitable bolts are two brackets 105 and .106 having bearings 107 and 108 respectively, adapted to accommodate the bars 109 which form guide ways for the sleeves 110 mounted thereon. shaped members 112 riveted to their ends for engaging individual sheets of material are bolted to the sleeves 110.

There is provided a shaft 113 having its A pair of hooks 111 having J- ends mounted in bearings 114 and 115 which in turn are bolted to the cross member 5. Keyed at one end of shaft 113 adjacent the bearings 114 is a sleeve 116 having a pair of arms 117 and 118 at angles to each other and having cam followers 119 and 120 respectively mounted thereon. A pair of cams 121 and 122 rigidly mounted on drive shaft 39 engage these followers as shown in detail in Figures 10 and 12, to oscillate shaft 113. A second pair of arms 123 and 124 are rigidly mounted on shaft 113 and engage the sleeves 110 through links 125 to communicate the oscillations of shaft 113 to the hooks 111. Cam 121 and adjustment screw 133 and its stop govern the forward movement of the hooks 111 and cam 122 governs the return thereof after the respective sheets engaged have been delivered to the conveyor. A bar 126 joins suitable extensions on the sleeves 110 to prevent rotation thereof on the shaft 109.

A vertical member 127 has its upper end mounted in a bearing 128 which is bolted to cross member 5. Its central portion is slotted at 129 to receive shaft 39 which may have a sleeve 130 cooperating with the slot 129 to guide the vertical member 127 which is bolted to the cup supporting arms 96. A cam 131 is rigidly mounted on shaft 39 adjacent the vertical member 127 and has a groove 134 adapted to receive the cam follower 135 which is attached to the vertical member 127. As the shaft 39 rotates, the cam 131 oscillates the vertical member 127 to cause the vacuum cups 100 to engage the stack of sheet material and to be raised therefrom.

A suitable vacuum is established within the cups 100 when they engage a sheet by means of the main supply pipe 136 leading from a suitable vacuum chamber, ,three way valve 137, and distributing tubes 138'and 139 leading from valve 137 to the cups 100. A cam 140 mounted on shaft 39 operates the three way valve 137 through the cam roller 141, lever 142 and sleeve 144. As shown in Figure 9, the valve 137 is opened and the air is being exhausted from cups 100. When the shaft 39 has rotated about the valve 137 shuts off the suction and admits air simultaneously to the cups 100, whereby the raised sheet of material is released. The sheet feeding mechanism proper, that is, the mechanism which raises the sheets from the stack and feeds them to the conveyor 2 in dividually, is dependent upon the rotation of shaft 39. This is controlled by clutch 42 which is operated by handle 43. The mechanism can, therefore, be cut out and the sheets fed by hand, if desired. The various mechanisms are coordinated to permit the cups 100 to engage the sheets of material at which'time the air is exhausted from the cups and the sheet is raised to the proper height, maintained in that position for a short period and engaged by the hooks 112, at which time the vacuum is shut off and the air admitted to cups 110.

In Figures 2 and 13, it will be noted that the friction clutch cannot be closed until the bar 49 is in correct position to receive in slot 146 the extension 145 on the friction clutch handle 30. The slot 146 is never in position to receive the extension 145 except when the clutch 41 is disengaged and the power derived from the conveyor is cut off. This prevents the operator from applying the power to the table raising mechanism from the motor 16 and the conveyor 2 at the same time. 1

Attachedalso to the friction clutch handle is the rod 147 which is mounted in a guide 148 attached to the L-shaped member 11. A pivoted lever is attached at its middle to the foundation plate 3 and has one of its ends connected to the rod 147 and has its other end in the form of a projection adapted to be engaged by the table when a predetermined lower limit is reached, whereby the rod 147 and friction clutch 20.are disen gaged. The result is the same when the table 14 reaches a predeterminedvupper level and engages a stop 150 and raises the rod 147. In either case, the motor 16 is disengaged from the vertical shafts -7 and thethe machine with the sheet material on a which the sheets may be engaged by the vacuum cups 100. At this point, the friction clutch 20 is disengaged by raising the handle 30 and the motor 16 is stopped by throwing the customary switch. The oper-- ator then eTigages clutch 41 by means of handle 50, whereupon the automatic table raising mechanism is in operation. By engaging the clutch 42, by means of the handle 43,- the sheet feeding mechanism is put into operation, whereby the shaft 39 is rotated and the cups 100 are "oscillated vertically to engage the stack of tin once during each revolution of the shaft 30. Cam 40 through lever 142 operates the three way valve 137 in coordination with the vertical'oscillations of the cu s 100 to establish a vacuum therein when t e cups ,enga e the stack and to break the vacuum when t e sheet has been raised and engaged by the hooks 111. The hooks I 111 are oscillated in a horizontal direction by means of the arms 123 mounted on the shaft 113 which is oscillatedby cams 121 and 122 and associated mechanisms.

As herein described, the table raising mechanism is constructed to raise the table 14 at a slightly greater rate than that at which the height of the stack is decreased by the removal of sheets. When the top of the stack has reached a predetermined height, the table raising mechanism is cut out temporarily by the latch 7 5, which disengages gear 54 from the collar 62. The operation of latch 7 5 is controlled by wire 92 con nected to collar 95 and arm 96 to be responsive to the height of the stack. The table raising mechanisms start again automatically when theheight of the stack has decreased a predetermined amount as determined by the relative positions of the collar 95and the arm 96. When the supply of sheet material-on the table 14 has been exhausted, the table raising mechanism is automatically cut out by engagement of the table l4'with the member 104 which throws lever lOO'by means of wire 103.

It will be seen that the present invention provides a sheet feeding machine completely automatic in all of its operation and one in which the human element is almost entirely eliminated. It will be further noted that these advantages are obtained by a machine which is simple in construction, easily manufactured, and adapted in every way for the commercial usage ordinarily encountered in this class of work.

Obviously the present invention may be embodied in structures other than those specifically disclosed herein, it is to be understood, therefore, that the said disclosure is to be taken as illustrative and not in the limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a sheet feeding machine, the combination of a pair of supporting shafts, a table in threaded engagement with said shafts adapted to support a plurality of metallic sheets, means for raising one of said sheets mechanism for operating said sheet raising means reciprocating devices for engaging said s eet to move it toward a machine to be fed, means for rotating said supporting shafts to raise said table at a slightly greater speed than the rate of decrease in the height of the stack, and automatic means controlled bydiflerential movement of the sheet raising means with said operating mechanism for periodically stopping the rotation of said shafts to maintain the top ofthe stack within predetermined limits to facilitate the operation of said sheet raisl ideways, a air of hooked members slida le in said gui eways to engage said raised sheet and to move it toward a machine to be fed, and means attached to said vacuum cups and relatively movable with respect thereto for automatically raising said table by means of said relative movement when the top of the stack is below a predetermined level.

3. In a sheet feeding machine, the combination of a horizontal member, sheet engaging means resiliently mounted on the ends of said member to prevent excessive pressure being applied to said stack, an upright member attached to the center of said horizontal member, and mechanism comprising a cam for reciprocating said upright member to raise sheets from the stack.

4. In a sheet feeding machine, the combination of supporting means for a stack of tin, devices for engaging and raising one of the sheets from said stack, and mechanism including a member attached to said sheet raising devices to control the height of said stack in accordance with the relative displacement of said devices and said member.

5. In a sheet feeding machine, the combination of supporting means for a stack of tin, means for raising said stack, devices yieldably mounted for engaging and raising individual sheets of tin from said stack, and mechanism including a member attached to said sheet raising devices to control the height of said stack in accordance with the relative displacement of said devices and said member.

6. In a sheet feeding machine the combination of supporting means for a stack of tin, power operated means for raising said stack of tin, devices including a member at tached to said devices for raising respective sheets from said stack, and automatic means controlled by said sheet raising means for rendering said power operated means effective for controlling the height of the stack in accordance with the relative displacement of said devices and said members.

7. In a sheet feeding machine, the combination of means for supporting a stack of tin, devices for raising said stack, sheet feed ing means including a mechanism having a stem slidably mounted in a sleeve, and means actuated by the movement of said stem in said sleeve for controlling said stack raising means.

8. The method of feeding sheets of material such as tin and the like, which method comprises engaging the upper sheet of a stack of tin to raise same and utilizing the displacement of said engaging means with respect to its movable support to control the height of the stack of tin.

9. The method of feeding sheets of material such as tin and the like, which method comprises periodically engaging and raising the top sheet of a stack ,and utilizing the displacement of said engaging means with respect to its movable support to maintain said stack at a substantially constant level.

10. In a sheet feeding machine, the combination of a member, sheet engaging cups mounted on the ends of said member, rcsilient means for retaining said cups in extended position to prevent excessive pressure being applied to said stack, an upri ht member attached to said other mem er, and mechanism comprising a cam for reciprocating said upright member to raise sheets from the stack.

11. In a sheet feeding machine, the combination of a pair of horizontal members, a sleeve mounted on each of said members, a bar connectin said sleeves to retain them in proper anguIar position, sheet engagin hooks mounted laterally of saidsleeves and said horizontal members, and cam operated means for reciprocating said sleeves to cause said hooks to feed sheets of tin.

12. In a sheet feeding machine, the combination of supporting rods, sleeves mounted on the said supporting rods, means for retaining said sleeves in the proper angular position, cam operated arms for oscillating said sleeves in proper relation to each other, and means in the form of hooks mounted laterally of said sleeves for engaging and feeding sheets of tin.

' ABRAHAM PODEL. 

